Type II
by LttlMssTrouble
Summary: The sequel to Type! Tony believes he can cure his feelings for Ziva by dating other women, where Ziva discovers she might have feelings for Tony... Yes! it's updated. And not with an author's note, but with an entire chapter!
1. 4 23am

_Disclaimer: Blah blah blah  
_

_A/N: The sequel to Type! Excuse me for the very lame title, but I didn't had inspiration for it yet. I did, however, had inspiration for a new story. The problem with Type was probably that it started out as a one-shot and I didn't know where to go with it. Now I have an idea, a storyline, a plot and the ending . . . well that still needs some work._

_For the people who were somewhat disappointed with the ending of Type, I believe the first chapter will make up for it - a bit ;)_

_I have set this somewhere in season 6/season 7, but than without the whole Rivkin affair. So it is slightly AU, but not very disturbingly I believe._

_And for the readers who didn't read Type, a small summary of what has happened: Tony and Ziva went on a date, set up by Abby and McGee. On that date there is an auction, and Ziva is forced to participate. Tony 'buys' her, and he suddenly realizes he is in love with Ziva. He decides to ignore those feelings. Type II takes place weeks after Type._

_ Please leave your thoughts about this story, good or bad, I really like to read your opinions :)_

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**4.23am**

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He saw the gun, before she did. He heard his own voice, but it sounded like it was someone else's.

'Ziva!' Instead of ducking or moving out of the way she just looked at their perpetrator, who had killed so many innocent lives already. Without thinking it through, Tony dropped his own weapon, and ran towards Ziva. He jumped towards her to take her down and heard the shot while he was in mid-air. A sharp pain penetrated his chest, and he folded his arms around Ziva. They landed on top of each other, their faces almost touching and their legs entangled.

'You okay?' He panted heavily. The adrenaline was racing through his body, for the moment stopping him from feeling pain.

'Yes, I believe so,' Ziva said, staring in his eyes.

'Good,' he nodded. 'You don't have to kill me,' he said. She frowned, not understanding him, and he took the opportunity to lower his head even more to kiss her. Her lips felt soft against his, and he decided that she tasted better than he had ever imagined. With his tongue he stroked over her bottom lip. She moaned involuntarily, and gave him entrance. Their tongues met and Tony deepened the kiss. Soft en slow they kissed, losing themselves in each other, as if time stood still and they were the only ones on earth. Tony gradually backed out and looked Ziva in her eyes. Her beautiful chocolate brown eyes, now looking dreamily and dazed at him.

'What was that for?' She whispered.

'I needed to kiss you at least once before I,' Tony swallowed, closed his eyes briefly. His chest was burning, the pain radiating through his back and he started to get dizzy and lightheaded. 'I love you Ziva, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner,' he breathed, and a hiss escaped his lips when another flash of pain shot through his body. He kissed her once more, and closed his eyes before he lay his head down on the floor next to her head.

'Tony? Tony! What are you doing? Tony!!' Ziva shook Tony, but he didn't react. She became afraid, looked down and noticed the bloodstain that spread out on her shirt. She managed to Tony on his back and searched for a heartbeat, but found nothing. She tried to stop the bleeding, but it was useless.

'No . . . No! No!! Tony! Wake up! Tony! Don't do this to me! Tony!!'

--

Tony shot straight up in his bed, his eyes wide. He looked down, touched his chest and arms, looked at his alarm clock which read 4:23am, and fell back down in his mattress. He hated those dreams, and he started to have them a lot lately. He hated even more that he would wake up freaking early and that he never was able to fall asleep afterwards. He looked at his ceiling for a few minutes, and decided that maybe he should go for a run.

Fifteen minutes later he understood why Ziva jogged in the mornings: it felt good. The city was quiet, as far as it ever would be completely quiet. The miles disappeared under his feet, and with that his thoughts about Ziva. When he got back at his apartment, he was sweating like a pig but felt strangely refreshed. Most importantly, he had a plan to get Ziva out of his head: dating. There should be a woman somewhere that would make him forget about her and his feelings for her. And he was determined to find that woman.


	2. Anne

_A/N: Seriously? 320 hits, 13 alerts and only 3 reviews? Well, just so you know, I'm going for a total of at least 10 reviews after this chapter :P_

_I hope you like this chapter :) If I would remember where I picked up the whole UFO thing, I would give credits, but I just know that I've read it somewhere online. Same goes for every date Tony will go on: I may have read about it somewhere, heard it, seen it in a movie or something. If I remember my source, I will post it. If I don't remember the source, I'm awfully sorry._

_Oh, and about the dispatch call-backs: wouldn't know if they exist. No idea, really._

_Well, enjoy this chapter! See you in the next one ;)  
_

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**Anne**

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'Yeah, I know the place . . . it's nice, food's good . . . Oh that sounds excellent Anne! Okay, sure . . . thanks, see you than beautiful!' Tony laid his cell phone on his desk and leant backwards in his chair with a smug smile on his face.

'Guess who has a date tonight,' he grinned.

'I guess I'm supposed to say 'you' right about now?' McGee answered while he kept typing on his computer.

'That's right McGee, me. With the beautiful blonde Anne from the coffee place,' Tony answered grinning.

'You better not make her mad, DiNozzo, I don't want to look for another place to get coffee,' Gibbs said while he walked by. He tossed a file on his desk and sat down.

'No case Boss?' Tony asked.

'Am I telling you to grab your gear, DiNozzo?'

--

'I like blondes, you know,' Tony said. 'Especially the natural blondes, long hair, very sexy. She told me she washes her hair with a special vanilla shampoo, I bet it smells delicious,' He stood in the middle of the bullpen, holding a just-finished report in his hands. Gibbs head disappeared into MTAC about an hour ago, leaving them with their paperwork.

'Are you going to buy her too, Tony?' Ziva said, not looking at him. 'Or was that one time only?'

'Hey, I had nothing to do with that,' Tony objected. 'It was McMoney over there who forgot about the auction and he was the one who paid for you in the end. You should be flattered, you know, you were the highest bid that evening,' he snorted at the memory, placed the report on Gibbs' desk.

'Because you waited till the last moment, yes? On purpose, which I still find resenting!'

'Well, it was kind of funny, you thought so too,' Tony reminded her. He flinched when Gibbs gave him a head slap.

'Stop the chatting, get to work,' he growled. 'DiNozzo, go call back the people who called dispatch this week. Ziva, make a move on with your reports, you're late. McGee, Vance asked me to give you this. Some mumbo-jumbo about a new database thing,'

'Dispatch call-backs? Seriously Boss? Do you _know_ what people call for?'

'I do, so I think the earlier you do it, the faster you can go home, DiNozzo,' He grabbed his jacket and left the bullpen again. Ziva noticed how Tony immediately started to work. He even managed to stuff the handset of his desk phone between his shoulder and head, to be able to continue typing and call at the same time.

'Since when do you work this hard, Tony?' She asked while she went through some crime scene photo's to get a detail for her report.

'I would hate to piss off Anne by getting late,' Tony answered. 'It would mean I piss off Gibbs in the - oh, hello, this is Anthony DiNozzo from NCIS . . . Naval Criminal Investigative Service . . . No that is not CSI . . . Yes we are the government . . . Yes I'm calling because you called us about the UFO that landed in your backyard . . . Ma'am . . . listen you need to call . . . Yes . . . Yes Ma'am, that is why I'm calling I . . . Could you . . . I . . . Fine! I have a few questions Ma'am. What does it looks like? . . . A small silver colored disc with a hole in the middle. Great, so it's now an Identified Flying Object. And it has landed, so it's not flying anymore. It's just an object. Yes ma'am, you're welcome, have a nice day,' He hung up with a groan of frustration, while Ziva and McGee shared a grin of understanding: Tony had a long day in front of him.

--

'Is Tony not coming?' Abby asked McGee when they sat down at a table in the bar they had decided to go to that evening.

'Didn't you hear? He has a date with the blonde from our coffee place,' McGee answered. 'He was very eager to get away on time because of it,'

'With that blonde girl? But I thought he had his mind set on brunettes?' Abby wondered.

'Yeah, well, I guess he changed his mind again. Want a drink?'

'Yeah sure,' Abby nodded. 'Oh look, there is Ziva!' She waved frantically to get Ziva's attention.

--

'So, Tony, what do you do for a living?' Anne asked him smiling, with her finger running circles over her cup of coffee. They had just finished eating and were now enjoying a last cup of coffee. With some effort Tony was able to hold his face straight.

'I work for the government,' he said, not feeling to say more about the subject since he had done that two times already.

'Oh, oh yeah,' she nodded and she giggled slightly. 'Isn't it boring, to sit behind a desk all day?'

'No, not really,' Tony smiled grimly. 'You know, my nickname on Ohio State was the Sex Machine, got it at Spring Break' he said, gauging her reaction. Suddenly Anne was all ears and leaned in a bit.

'Oh really! Did you ever go on Spring Break? I love Spring Break! It's so much fun! I met this guy once, who was able to drink up half a liter of beer at once, it was awesome! And we, you know, the girls and me, we always go to the same place, we know _all_ the bartenders and we get free drinks from them. Oh, and we shop there, it's like crazy fun, you know? One time we . . .'

Tony started to block her mindless chattering, which was surprisingly easy. He missed Ziva. He actually _missed _her and he knew that that was something he shouldn't do. For the moment he ignored the feeling and started to think of ways to ditch Anne without her getting pissed – he hadn't forgotten Gibbs' warning about the coffee – and he wanted to ditch her as soon as possible. Even though she was pretty, she was shallow and not the brightest person he had ever met. And he would be able to see pass that, if she had shown some kind of interest in his personal life, but she hadn't. She didn't care for movies, she had assumed he was talking about horses when he said he drove a Mustang and her live seemed to turn around clothing and shopping. All and all the date had been a waste of time. Unnoticed he pulled out his cell phone, and typed quickly a message:

_Date sucks, need an escape_

He went through the shortlist of most used numbers, and hesitated briefly at Ziva's name. Sometimes he called in her help to ditch a date. It was tempting to do it this time, but if he wanted to stop his feelings it wasn't smart. So he texted it to Abby. He almost sighed with relief when not a minute later his phone rang.

'DiNozzo!'

'Is it that bad that you need someone to call you?' Ziva asked smirking. Tony's eyes widened slightly when he heard her sensual voice and it took a second before he was able to answer.

'A break through? I'll be on my way!' He said.

'I am a break through? That is new, Tony. You used to let me call you and made me the angry ex-girlfriend who has abandoning issues,' Ziva answered, a large grin on her face.

'Do you have an address, Boss?' Tony started to get anxious. She was playing him, he knew it, and yet he actually liked it in a strange, almost sadomasochist way.

'Can you not guess, Tony? Oh, wait, Anne is still with you, is she not? Are you really going to just leave her like that? Poor girl,' Ziva answered.

'I'm sorry, Boss, I didn't really understand that?' Tony managed to say through his clenched jaws, wanting to laugh and yell at her at the same time.

'You really are afraid of Gibbs, yes? I could do this for hours, but was rule twenty three not something with messing with his coffee? I do not like an angry Gibbs. So . . . We are at that place where we went two weeks ago, with the small dance floor and the jazz music,'

'Thank you Boss, I will be there in a sec,' Tony answered and he hung up on Ziva.

'Problems on work, Tony?' Anne asked.

'Yes, unfortunately, I'm sorry, I've got to go immediately. Here, this should cover the bill, right? It was a pleasure, goodbye!' Without giving her a chance to answer, Tony stood up from his chair, dropped a fifty dollar bill on the table and hurried out of the restaurant. He walked to his car, got in and drove off.

--

'Tonyyyyy!' Abby hopped towards Tony when he entered the club, and hugged him forcefully. 'Was she that awful?'

'Ugh, don't get me started, Abs. Hey, why did you gave Ziva your phone?' Tony asked.

'I was dancing, tossed her the phone when I saw your message,' Abby smiled. Together they walked to the table where McGee and Ziva sat. 'I need a beer. No, wait, I need something stronger than that,' he sighed, and left Abby hopping up and down at the table while he went over to the bar to order.

Ziva followed him with her eyes, unable to do otherwise. Dark jeans, white shirt and a grey jacket. Nice!

'His cloths won't disappear if you keep staring at him,' Abby whispered in her ear. Ziva turned her head sharply away and looked at Abby.

'I cannot help that the bartender is looking good tonight,' she lied without breaking a sweat.

'The bartender? Really . . . What is he wearing than, exactly?' Abby questioned with a devilish glint in her eyes.

'White shirt, black pants, he has brown hair and blue eyes. His tie is hanging loose around his neck,' she answered quickly. Abby narrowed her eyes and looked at her for a few moments, before she turned her head to the barkeeper.

'Fine. Maybe he's single,' she grinned when she saw that Ziva had been right – and Ziva silently thanked her Mossad-training for learning her how to take in everyone and everything in a room from the moment she entered. She may have looked at Tony for a while, but it was just to compare him with the barkeeper. The barkeeper who was interesting, good looking, maybe single and if she squinted her eyes he looked a bit like Tony. Not that that mattered, of course.

At the same time Tony was waiting to order his drink, he thought about how his heart had fluttered when he saw Ziva sitting at the table. It had actually _fluttered_ because he _saw_ her. This thing he had was starting to get ridiculous, really. Maybe he should try to find a woman who looked a bit like Ziva. It _had_ to be something physical that made her so attractive, so if he found someone that looked a bit like her, maybe he could leave those feelings behind him _and_ put an end to his dry spell. He wouldn't go after brunettes like he had done at the beginning, that had been a waste of energy, but he would just find someone who looked a bit like Ziva. The bartender shook him from his thoughts, when he asked what he wanted to drink.

'Do you know the barkeeper, Tony?' Abby asked with a grin when Tony came back with a whisky.

'No, why?'

'Well, Ziva thought he was cute, maybe you knew if he was single?' Tony was about to take a sip of his whisky, but hesitated. She could date whoever she wanted. He wasn't supposed to be jealous of some guy he didn't know. He did _not_ have feelings for Ziva.

'Have no idea, but he isn't wearing a ring,' he said, determined to be helpful. Ziva almost cringed when she heard his answer. She had thought that when they were on their not-a-date-date, she had sensed something between them. Feelings that went beyond the friends-barrier. There had been definitely something, until Tony had broken the spell and had ran off towards the men's room. Afterwards, he had dropped her off at her place, and had not even tried to invite himself into her home. The days and weeks that followed, he had acted a bit different too, as if he was avoiding her. But that had changed again, even though she did not understand the reasons why. And now he didn't even cared if she would go on a date with a guy. No hint of jealousy, no prying about why she would date someone like the barkeeper, not even jokes about the idea that she would date someone at all. And if she was honest, really, brutally honest: she did not really like it. And she had the feeling that if she would look for the reasons _why _she felt disappointed, it would open up a big jar of Pandora. Or was that box? Maybe a chest? Stupid idioms!


	3. Julia

_A/N: I asked for 10 reviews, I have 7. Something doesn't add up, dear readers ;)_

_I can jabber a lot here, but I won't. Hope you enjoy this chapter, if you do: please review, it would really make my day!_

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**Julia**

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**

It was Saturday, and Tony had played his usual game of basketball in the park. They were finished, but he didn't feel like going home. It would mean another weekend spending alone and he didn't feel like it. He strolled through the park, and his eyes caught a family, playing with their dog. A happy couple with a little girl, laughing and enjoying the good weather outside. He suddenly imagined how is life had could been, if he had chosen for Jeanne. He could see them, going to the park to play, simply having fun. What if he had had his chance to lead that sort of life, when he had chosen for NCIS and not for Jeanne? What if he would never find someone to spent the rest of his life with? You don't deserve a happy ending, Anthony, you're not worth it, the all too familiar voice of his dad sounded through his head. He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts and turned to leave the park – bumping into someone and suddenly feeling something hot on the front of his shirt.

'Whoa!' Tony jumped back and plucked his shirt from his skin.

'Oh my God, I'm _so_ sorry, I wasn't looking and I should have, stupid me. Are you all right sir? I will take your shirt to dry-cleaning, really, I'm very sorry, I should have watched were I was going,' Tony looked at his shirt and saw a big coffee stain on his shirt. He looked up, straight into two big green eyes, in a face with a fine turned-up nose and a pointy chin. Long, dark curls framed her face. The woman was petite, with the top of her head she just reached his shoulders. And although his skin still burned a bit from the coffee, Tony noticed immediately that Miss Green Eyes was pretty, and he liked how she tried to apologize, sounding truly sorry for what she had done. Her voice was pleasant too: soft, friendly with a hint of a southern accent.

'Are you okay, sir?' The woman asked again. 'I never intended to spill your coffee, I'm really sorry,'

'No, no, I'm fine. Call me Tony, by the way,' Tony smiled. 'And I should have looked were I was going, sorry for that,'

'I'm Julia,' the woman answered. 'Are you sure you didn't get burned? Maybe if you take it off, I have a fist aid kit, I can take a look at it,' She already pulled up her shoulder-bag and start looking through it. Tony stared at her in amazement, and laughed out loud.

'Are you always that subtle to get a guy out of his cloths?' He asked grinning. 'Not that I mind you trying,' Julia started blushing, which Tony thought was pretty cute. She was a spitfire, to say the least: she talked about a hundred miles a minute and had yet to sit still for a second.

'I'm pretty sure that I'm not injured,' He said when she fiddled around with her bag.

'But are you really sure? Maybe we should go to the hospital if you don't want me to check you out,' Julia interrupted him.

'You really want to see me undressed, don't you? Listen, I'm fine. I've had enough injuries in my life to know when I should let someone look at them, don't worry about it,' Tony answered. 'And this is a pretty old shirt, so don't worry about that either,'

'Well, it's a Buckeyes shirt, you've got to take care of it,' Julia laughed.

'Well, it's not that I have only one of it. Wait, did you go to Ohio State or something?'

'Class of '91, studied journalism. I've played in the marching band. You know, The Best Damn Band in the Land,'

'Of course I know! I'll never forget the first time I made a touch-down and they started to play the Buckeye Battle Cry!'

'My favorite was doing Script Ohio, it was very hard to learn it but it really was awesome to do. So you've played football?'

'I did, played basketball too,' Tony nodded.

'Did you go pro? If you played the varsity team, your chances were pretty big, right?'

'I wanted to, actually, and I played the varsity team, but in a game against Michigan I broke my leg. That more or less blew my chances,'

'Oh, that must have sucked!'

'Yeah, it wasn't the best time of my life,' Tony shrugged. 'Hey, did you had classes from that guy with the thick glasses and the very large mustache?' He suddenly asked. 'That guy was _so_ funny,'

'Frobel! He was hilarious!' They sat down on a bench, and started talking about their years of college. Slowly the subject shifted to their favorite movies, after that they talked a while about music. It was already getting dark when they noticed the sun was setting.

'Okay, did we really talked for three hours?' Tony asked with a glance on his watch.

'I guess we did, Tony. Wait, you didn't had plans or something I hope? I shouldn't have taken so much from your time,' Julia hold her hands for her face.

'Don't apologize, it's a sign of weakness,' Tony blurted out. 'Oh, crap. Sorry, that's something my Boss keeps saying, it's a bit drummed into my head. But no, I don't have plans for tonight, so you're good,' he laughed.

'I can't imagine you don't have a date or something,' Julia said with a small blush.

'I don't, really. Haven't had one in a while,' he chuckled a bit sarcastic.

'You don't date? But you're a handsome guy, you're friendly and funny. Wait, are you gay?'

'I'm not gay!'

'Married?'

'Not that I know of!'

'Something else . . . wrong with you?' Julia scrunched her face.

'I'm accused of being a childish, selfish, annoying, a show off, a sexist. I would bet that my co-workers have some other things for that list too. But I'm not a criminal, I'm not wanted by the FBI anymore and . . .'

'Wait, you were wanted by the FBI?'

'They have the strange tendency to accuse me of murder while I'm innocent,'

'Maybe you can tell me about that . . . at dinner?'

'It's not the most wonderful story ever told. One guy tried to set me up because he lost his job because of me, than there was my ex-undercover-girlfriend. No wait, undercover-ex-girlfriend. That doesn't sound good either. I mean the woman I had to date while I was undercover,'

'Tony,'

'Her father was murdered, she accused me. Didn't do it, by the way. And last but not least there was this time that . . .'

'Tony!'

'Yeah?'

'I'm trying to ask you out on a date!'

'You . . . I . . . Okay, yeah, that would be nice,' Tony said a bit dumbfounded. What had happened here? Had he really missed the signs of a beautiful woman who wanted to go out with him?

'You're a strange guy, Tony,' Julia laughed.

--

An hour later, Tony knocked on the door of Julia's apartment. She opened seconds later and smiled brightly at him. He took in her appearance and gave her a flashing smile. Before he could compliment her, she walked back in her apartment.

'You look good without coffee stains,' she called out. 'I like your shirt, makes your eyes look blue,' She came back with her shoulder bag and closed the door behind her.

'You know, Julia, you make it pretty hard for a guy to make you a compliment if you don't give him a chance,' Tony said.

'How do you mean?' Julia gave him a confused look.

'Well, I was going to say that you look good in that dress, but that sounds pretty lame now you've said something like that too,' They left the apartment-building, and Julia giggled slightly.

'I'm sorry, I never think about what I'm saying, before I've said it. But, it isn't lame to hear. So thank you for the compliment,' Julia made a small reverence, her eyes twinkling, and twirled around. Her dress was black, with a green woven sash at her waist. While she twirled around, the dress danced freely around her legs – and she hit Tony in his groin with her bag.

'Oof!' Tony bend over after the impact, and he groaned softly.

'Oh my! Oh Tony, I'm _so_ sorry, I forgot about the bag! Does it hurt? Oh no, stupid question,' Julia clasped her hands over her mouth, looking shocked.

'Do you always have the habit to hurt the guys you're on a date with?' Tony asked, carefully standing straight again.

'Oh God no, it's just, I'm a bit clumsy, you know, I have these things all the time. I'm really sorry – again. I could ask you if I need to take a look . . . but I'm afraid you would think I'm really nuts,' Tony stared at her, not sure if she was kidding or not, and started laughing again. Julia's eyes started to twinkle and she began to laugh with him.

'Just hand me your bag, okay? I'll carry it, and you just try not to hurt me again this evening,' Tony finally said with a large grin. Julia nodded and handed him her shoulder bag, which was surprisingly heavy.

'Jeez, woman, what do you carry? Rocks or something?' Tony asked when he opened the car door for her. She got in the car and Tony walked around to get in himself. He placed the bag on the back seat and started the engine.

'Not rocks, but there are a few things in it. I carry my laptop around, and my wallet, of course, an agenda, a small first aid kit, a book and some other stuff. I think I would go crazy if I would ever lose my bag. It's my life,' Julia told him.

'Than why do you carry it around all the time? If you leave stuff at home, you won't lose it,' Tony smiled. He left the parking space and joined the evening traffic.

'There have been a lot break-ins in my block lately, and I already carried this bag around ninety percent of the time. Don't you have something you've always got with you?'

A picture of my half-naked, bikini-wearing partner in my wallet, Tony thought. He almost said it out loud, but managed to hold his jaws together. Missing signs was one thing, talking about another woman was probably not something Julia would find charming. He took his time to make a turn to the left, watching carefully for oncoming traffic.

'I have my wallet, but that's about it,' he answered when he had taken the turn. 'But I understand how you feel about losing something. I wouldn't want to miss my movies,' They had arrived at the restaurant they had picked, and he parked the car. Julia moved to get out, but was stopped by Tony.

'Hold it,' he said. He grabbed her back from the back seat, opened his door and got out. He quickly walked around his car and opened the passenger door. He gave Julia a hand, and helped her out.

'Thank you,' she smiled.

'Do you want to take your bag? I don't mind carrying it,' Tony offered.

'Oh no, that's fine, I can take it,' She hung it over her shoulder and together they walked to the restaurant.

--

They were seated by a waitress, and started talking again like they had done that afternoon. Tony found that he really liked Julia, she was funny, they shared a few interests and last but not least: he found her attractive. What he didn't liked was his mind getting back to Ziva. Would she have liked the food, would she have said anything about his shirt or what she would carry around in her bag. Did she even had a bag? He tried again to put Ziva out of his head and focused his attention on Julia.

'Okay, you said something about being accused of murder?' Julia asked when he fell silent.

'You really want to know about it? And by the way, you do know that it's dangerous to go out with a guy who said he's accused of murder?'

'I'm guessing that the guys who are murderers won't say that they have been accused of being one,' Julia answered.

'That is pretty good thinking, actual,'

'I know. So, how about your story?'

When they were done eating, they paid for the bill and left the restaurant. It felt natural that Tony put his arm around her shoulder, like they had known each other for ages. When they got at the car Tony held the door open and Julia got in. Talking and laughing they drove back to Julia's apartment.

'So, what's your favorite book?' Julia asked all of a sudden.

'I hardly ever read, to be honest. The last book I've read was probably Deep Six or something,' Tony admitted.

'Deep Six was one of my favorites! I really liked how Gemcity wrote about Agent Tommy and Officer Lisa. He has a very addictive way of writing,' Julia answered enthusiastically.

'Yeah, you could say that,' Tony answered grimly. How was it possible? Even when he was actual having fun on a date, with a woman he liked, he got reminded of Ziva _somehow_. And when it wasn't his own mind that went to her, it was his date that made him think of her. He was going to kill McGee one day! With his stupid writing, basing the characters on . . .

'Hey, you ehm . . . you want to come in?' Julia asked. Without noticing it, Tony had parked his car in front of Julia's building. This really was going to start being dangerous, he hadn't even noticed the other traffic!

'I would like to,' he nodded. Julia dug up her keys out of her bag, and opened the door. She walked in, and Tony followed slowly. He hadn't done this in more than a year and it felt strange.

'Make yourself comfortable, I'll get us some drinks,' Julia said and she walked to the kitchen. Tony looked around the living room. It looked nice, with light colors, a comfortable looking couch, two arm chairs, a bookshelf at the wall, a small coffee table and to his delight a plasma screen with a 5.1 surround system.

He sat down on the couch and saw Rock Hollow lying on the table. He picked it up and went through it. Julia just walked in with two beers and handed him one, and she sat down next to him.

'I'm suspecting you're a real fan of Gemcity?' Tony asked.

'I was, actually. Don't think I am anymore,' Julia shrugged.

'Why? I mean, have you read something better or something?' Tony asked surprised.

'Well, if you want to know: I've been on a few dates with him, but he never called me back,' Julia said. 'I don't really know why. Guess he didn't really like me like he said he did,' Tony choked in his beer and started coughing.

'You dated Thom E. Gemcity?' He said when he could breathe again.

'Actually, I've been on a few dates with Tim McGee, but he turned out to be Thom E. Gemcity. Oh now you remind me of him, he works at NCIS too! Is that funny or something?'

'It isn't funny, really and there is absolutely no way to say this in a way you would believe me. Tim McGee is one of my co-workers,' Tony said. Julia stared at him, and started to laugh.

'Funny, Tony. Really,' she grinned. 'I just told you that, remember?'

'I know, I know you just told me, but I don't think you get what I'm saying. First of all: I'm not joking, Julia. I don't know how much he told you about his job. I told you I work at NCIS, right? Well, to be more precise: we work at NCIS, the Major Crimes Response Team. To make things worse, he even based his characters on the team,'

'You could have read that somewhere,' Julia asked skeptically, but her voice was a pitch higher than it had been the whole evening.

'Well, let's see, my boss is L.J. Gibbs, who became Tibbs, my partner is Mossad Officer Ziva, who he named Lisa, in our lab we've got Abby Sciuto, better known by you as Amy Sutton and in autopsy we've got Jimmy Palmer around who became, very original, Pimmy Jalmer,' Tony summed up. Julia had dropped her beer on her lap and cursed softly. She picked the bottle up quickly and put it on the table, but she didn't look at Tony.

'I'm going to ehm . . . change, yeah,' she mumbled, and she left the living room. Tony sighed, and looked at the stain on the couch. He walked to the kitchen and grabbed a cloth to clean up the mess. He was just finished when Julia came back. She had changed her dress for a pair of jeans and t-shirt.

'You can tell him that he's an ass for not calling me back,' she said. 'And that he should work at his name giving, it sucks,' she sat down again, her head high, but Tony saw that her eyes were red rimmed and heard her voice tremble ever so slightly.

'You really liked him, didn't you?' he asked softly.

'Not anymore,' Julia huffed. 'Oh, thanks for cleaning up, that's really nice,' she smiled, and she put her hand on Tony's. His eyes traveled from their hands to her face, and his mind went to McGee. Good old Probie, who he always teased about not having a love life. He remembered that McGee had told him about a girl, a few weeks back, who he really seemed a bit crazy about. A girl with beautiful curls, green eyes and who was a bit clumsy. And even though he really liked to tease Probie he did wished for him to find a girlfriend. That it would mean that he would give up his own chances with Julia was something he would rather not think about too much at that moment.

'This is probably none of my business, but when did you date?'

'About a month ago. But, we shouldn't talk about him,' she laughed with a small wink.

'Maybe we should, maybe we shouldn't. The point is, that last month was pretty busy. We've had three cases with a total of five homicides in one week. We've practically lived in the office, you know? Twenty hours sleep in a five days or so. No time for other stuff. Personal life, dates. Sometimes there is just no time at all. What I'm trying to say . . . McGee isn't a bad guy. And if he really liked you, which wouldn't surprise me, than he just didn't had the time to give you a call. And when he did had the time, he maybe was afraid to do it because it taken so long already,'

'Tony, what are you saying here?' Julia asked, pulling her hand back and frowning slightly.

'I'm going to give you his desk phone number. And I'm suggesting you'd call it Monday. If he doesn't pick up, try his cell, maybe we're out in the field. Just, give him another chance. He deserves it, believe me,' Tony smiled, and he reached for his wallet, pulling out a card of his own.

'Why can't I call him tomorrow?' Julia asked.

'Well, I deserve some teasing material, don't you think? You've got a pen?' Julia handed him one and with firm movements Tony blotted out his own number and wrote down McGee's. He gave her the card, and stood up.

'I should be going home,' he said. 'Promise me you call him?'

'I will. On Monday. Around three pm probably, that's when I am free,' Julia answered while they walked to her door. Tony got the hint and chuckled.

'Good, I'll make sure I'll be around,' he grinned. With a last wave he left her apartment, but Julia called him back.

'Tony? How accurate are the descriptions of the team?' she asked.

'Don't tell him that, but they are pretty good,' Tony shrugged. 'Why?'

'Maybe you should ask Ziva on a date,' Julia suggested. 'I always thought Tommy and Lisa made a good couple!'


	4. Sam

_Disclaimer: ha!_

_A/N: No, you're eyes aren't deceiving you, this is really (honestly!) a new chapter of Type II. It's a miracle, isn't it ;) _

_I hope that this chapter, even though it's relatively short, makes up for the long absences of updates. If so, please let me know. If not, please let me know :P_

_Have fun reading!_

* * *

**Sam**

**

* * *

  
**

The music in the club was loud, but not so loud that it was impossible to keep a conversation going. They stood together at a table at the side of the dance floor, talking and laughing – until Tony's eyes went wide and he crouched, trying to hide behind Abby and McGee.

'What are you doing,' Ziva asked, for a change being able to look straight at Tony instead of having to look up.

'Anne's here,' Tony hissed. McGee and Abby turned to look, but Tony hissed again. 'Don't look! She might see me!'

'Who is Anne,' McGee asked, turning back to Tony.

'Wait, you mean that blonde girl from the coffee place that you had a date with?' Abby suddenly remembered.

'Yes! She doesn't understand the word 'no', even though I made perfectly clear a second date wasn't going to happen,' Tony answered, still trying to get Anne in his eyesight without being seen. 'Oh crap, she's coming this way. Ziva, I'm begging you, please go with me this time, don't kill . . .' Tony rambled, but before he could end his sentence Anne had spotted him and he stood straight again. In fast strides Anne was at their table.

'Tony! I tried to call you but I kept getting your voice mail. Funny that we run into each other!'

'Oh yes, very funny,' Tony grimaced. 'I'm sorry I couldn't answer your calls, but I've been kinda busy,' he smiled. 'You see, when I said we shouldn't go on a second date, I didn't gave you a reason, because I didn't want to hurt your feelings,' he felt how he slid behind his old mask of player, and he let a flashing smile appear on his face. He put his arm around Ziva's shoulder and pulled her closer, trapping her arms effectively so she couldn't hit him.

'Ziva, meet Anne. Anne, this is Ziva, my girlfriend,' McGee and Abby raised their eyebrows in surprise, but Anne didn't even look at them. Tony pressed his nose into Ziva's hair.

'I'll buy you pizza, I'll do your paperwork for a month. Two months! I'll do everything you want, just please please play along,' he whispered quickly. Ziva looked up in his eyes, a dangerous glint in her own.

'Hello, Anne, nice to meet you,' she smiled finally.

'You're his _girlfriend_?' Anne asked, sounding a lot less upbeat than she had a minute ago. 'That's funny, he never mentioned you once while we were dating,' she sneered. 'Very convenient, really. I don't believe you,' She put her arms on her hips. 'If you two are dating, why don't you kiss each other?' She huffed.

Tony swallowed and looked down at Ziva. She would so kill him, if he did this. If he didn't, Anne would probably start a screaming match or something and he really didn't want to witness that – or be the subject of it. Ziva looked up in his eyes, a little smile on her face. Tony didn't know if it was a 'you're so dead when this is over' smile or a 'fine I'll play along but you're so going to pay for it' smile. Anne started insulting him again, but suddenly it didn't matter anymore. Tony realized that this maybe was his only chance to kiss Ziva without being undercover, being watched from every possible angle. Well, okay, there were Abby and McGee, but at least Gibbs wasn't looking. How could he pass up a chance like that? With two hands Tony cupped Ziva's face, and he brought down his own. He kissed her, softly, gentle, a little bit hesitating.

He felt for a moment how she froze, shocked by his action. But the moment passed, and suddenly she responded to the kiss. It wasn't the fierce, powerful kiss Tony had dreamed of being their first kiss, instead it was a gentle kiss that was full of promises. Somewhere next to him he heard Abby squeal, but he ignored it. He moved one of his hands behind Ziva's back, pulling her slightly closer to him. Ziva folded her hands behind his neck, letting her body molding against his. They deepened the kiss, almost forgetting the world around them completely. Almost . . .

'Ahem,' McGee coughed, feeling slightly embarrassed because he had to watch his colleagues kissing as if they were forgetting the rest of the world – which they probably had, looking at the way they _were_ kissing. His cough seemed to get their attention, because they stopped kissing and stared at each other for a few intense moments.

'She's gone like five minutes ago, guys,' Abby grinned, looking like her Christmas had come early that year.

'Well than,' Ziva said after what seemed like forever. 'Than she must have believed us,' She send a smile towards Tony. 'We can act quiet good, yes? Maybe we should get an Emmy,' Tony swallowed away his surprise, but it seemed to create a lump in his chest.

'Oh yeah, that was awesome, David, I really owe you,' he nodded quickly. 'So, who wants another round?' He left their table, and went to the bar. It had been an act. She hadn't felt the things he had felt when they were kissing. Like they belonged together. Really belonged together. Not just as partners, or friends, but as a couple. He remembered how he had felt on their 'date', when they had been dancing. He had thought that maybe he had been imagining those feelings, so he had pushed those feelings away, but it turned out to be all true. He was in love with Ziva David. And she was probably the only woman he could never – ever – have. Because she was his partner. Because of Gibbs' rules. Maybe even because of her father. But mostly, because she didn't return his feelings. He needed a drink.

'I'll be right back,' Ziva smiled to Abby. She left their table too, and went to the restroom. Staring at her own reflection, she was thinking hard and fast. Had that really happened? That sweet, tender, loving kiss he had given her? That kiss that seemed to hold every promise a man could give a woman. That he would cherish her, care for her, look after her and maybe . . . love her. For the first time in years her Mossad training had in a way failed her: she had forgotten the world around them, forgotten to watch her back, to have an eye on everything. It was scary, that one man could that. That _Tony_ could do that. So she had acted as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn't felt all those lovely intense feelings. He had agreed with her reaction so quick and easy, it had to be the truth. She should forget about the kiss altogether. He wasn't interested in her, he had needed a diversion. If it had been Abby next to him, he would have asked her to act as his girlfriend. That was it. Easy, simple. She was Ziva David, Mossad Assassin. Tough, emotionless.

- -

Tony ordered a few beers and a shot of whisky. The bartender quickly made his order ready, and in one quick movement he drank the whisky. It burned through his throat, making him closing his eyes for a second. That was way better than the weird, sad feeling he had just a minute ago.

'You shouldn't drink that alone, you know,' a vaguely familiar voice came up next to him.

'I'm not, those beers are for my friends,' Tony answered while he turned his head. 'But thanks for . . . Sam!?' He stared at the woman next to him in surprise.

'The one and only,' the woman grinned. 'Long time no see, Tony,' She took a step forward and gave him a big hug.

'Yeah I know!,' Tony laughed while he returned the hug. 'But since I'm with NCIS I don't come in Baltimore often. How are you doing, Sam?' Sam tilted her head.

'You are kidding right, are you a federal agent?' She laughed.

'And why, Samantha Monroe, are you saying that as if that is impossible?' Tony asked looking as if he was hurt. Sam laughed again, and placed her hand on his arm.

'Because, Anthony DiNozzo, I remember a few things of our partnership in Baltimore, and you never seemed to be . . . eager to work for any Federal Agency whatsoever!'

'Oh, like you ever showed signs of wanted to become Lieutenant?!' Tony laughed, pulling on a strand of hair that had fallen on her shoulder.

'Yeah, well, things change,' Sam shrugged. 'Wait a minute, how do you know about that?'

'I _am_ Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Congratulations, by the way. Hey, want to meet my co-workers? They are over there,' Tony pointed towards their table.

– –

From the entrance of the restrooms, Ziva had watched how Tony had downed a shot of some liquor. She wanted to walk over him, so that they could talk about what had happened just then. But she hesitated when a very good looking woman approached him. Long hair, that had the color of liquid caramel. A grey dress that accentuated her breasts – bigger than her own. She had long legs – the woman was longer than she was. Ziva found that she overall had a beautiful figure – curvy in stead of slender. Ziva saw them talk, saw how they hugged – _they_ never hugged like that – how they laughed and how the woman placed her hand on Tony's arm. There was something so natural in the movement, as if she had done that thousands of times before. She saw how Tony pulled on one of the caramel locks of her hair – he never did that with her.

Not that that all mattered. Of course not. She just noticed it, like the good Officer she was. That she and Tony had just shared a kiss that was nothing like any other kiss she had ever had, did not matter. Because he was Tony. Her partner. The one man that she could not have.

Not that she wanted him, of course.

- -


	5. Damon

_Dislaimer: Does anyone actually read disclaimers?_

_A/N: I had planned on this being the last chapter of my story. It turns out I need at least one chapter more to finish it like I want to finish it. Honestly, how can I let Tony date and Ziva not? She's a very beautiful woman, it would be stupid not to giver her at least one date. If only to make Tony jealous, right?_

_About the backstory between McGee and Julia: there is none. I needed her to let Tony get some insights. Feel free to write about them if you have ideas about them :)  
_

_There is a big chance that there are mistakes in it, especially in the last part, but I was tired and really wanted to upload this chapter before I went to bed. Sorry about the mistakes._

_Well, no more babbling from me. Have fun, and leave a review if you want to!_

* * *

**Damon**

* * *

Ziva was working on a report, concentrating hard on her task: rewriting her previous version, preferable without the mistakes she had made the first time. The case self hadn't been the hardest, but they were called in around ten in the evening and it had been close to five in the afternoon when she had found time to write her report. She had been tired and hungry, which seemed to be a very good way to ruin her English even more than usual. Now she was working alone in the bullpen, while Gibbs, McGee and Tony were in MTAC.

'Excuse me, I am looking for Special Agent DiNozzo?' a voice interrupted her concentration.

'He is in MTAC right now, probably will be down here in thirty minutes or something,' Ziva answered. 'I can take a message if you want,' She dropped her pencil, looked up and froze momentarily.

'Oh no, that's alright, I can wait,' Caramel colored hair, sparkling grey eyes, a warm smile. What was _she_ doing _here_.

'I can call him if you want to?' Ziva managed to say in a professional tone. She didn't even know for herself how she managed it. Or why she reacted so shocked on the appearance of what probably was Tony's latest fling, she should be used to it after four years.

'You are Ziva, right? I'm sorry I missed you the other night. I hope the headache didn't last very long?' the woman asked gently.

'. . . When I got home and into bed it went much better, thank you,' Ziva answered. After seeing Tony and his fling, she had walked back to Abby and McGee and made up an excuse that she had a sudden headache. Before Tony had come back, she had walked out the door. Abby and McGee probably hadn't believed her story, but they hadn't said anything about it.

'That's good to know. I hate headaches, I have sometimes migraines and they seem to last for at least three days. I'm Samantha by the way,' she extended her hand and Ziva shook it.

'Ziva David. But you already knew that,' she answered with a stiff smile.

* * *

'Maybe we can get an early lunch,' McGee said to Tony. They walked out of MTAC, leaving Gibbs behind with Vance.

'I'm meeting up with Sam, she should be here any minute now,' Tony grinned.

'I'm guessing she already is,' McGee answered. They both looked down into the bullpen, and saw Ziva and Sam talking. Tony swallowed, having another livid memory of _that_ evening, now a small week ago. His arms around Ziva, their kiss, they way she felt pressed against his body, how he had the sudden, strange feeling of belonging, how every inch of feeling he had for Ziva surfaced in that single moment. He also remembered very vividly how he had seen her hair dancing on her back when she left the club. So she didn't answer his feelings, so much was clear. It shouldn't be that hard to deal with, but somehow it was.

'. . .ony? Tony!?' Tony turned his head towards McGee.

'What's up McBabble?'

'Never mind, I'm hungry,' McGee grunted. He walked towards the elevator and pushed the button for Abby's lab. Tony stared after him for a moment, before he went down the stairs.

'Sam, girl, let's go, before Gibbs makes me do stuff again,' he grinned, swinging his arm around her waist and taking her towards the elevator, leaving Ziva standing at her desk.

Ziva stared at the retreating couple. Tony hadn't even so much as looked at her. He was acting weird ever since their kiss, apparently regretting it. Of course he did, she was everything but his type. She didn't had blond hair, grey eyes and big breasts.

* * *

'So, that's Ziva,' Sam commented when they sat on a bench in a park not far from the base.

'Now you've met almost all of the team,' Tony acknowledged.

'She's beautiful,' she smiled.

'Do you like being a lieutenant?' Tony asked, ignoring her statement.

'Does she know you're in love with her?' Sam ignored _his_ question and simply continued about Ziva.

´You promised we wouldn't talk about that,' Tony answered. 'Ever found a new . . . friend with benefits?' He asked with a mischievous grin.

'Hahaha, you still regret stopping with our . . . extracurricular activities, don't you,' Sam laughed out loud.

'Actual, I only regret being busted on Smith's desk at two am in the morning,' Tony laughed. 'Other than that it was -'

'You don't want to talk about Ziva now, but you couldn't shut up about her last night when we got back at your place,' Sam interrupted him, steering the conversation back to her original topic.

'I was drunk!' Tony pointed out.

'Children and drunk people seem to tell the truth,' Sam answered. 'What happened with the 'I can get every woman walking on this planet', Tony I knew six years ago?' She asked, more serious now.

'I _can_ get every woman I want,' Tony defended himself.

'So that dry spell you complained about last night is your own choice?' Sam asked. Before Tony could even react, she continued. 'What's stopping you, DiNozzo? What are you waiting for? What if there's some other guy, who sees in her what you see. What if he asks her out and you'll be too late?'

'Because there are the rules. Gibbs' rules. Don't screw over your partner. Never go anywhere without a knife. It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission. Never date a coworker. Those rules are there for a reason, Sam,' he answered.

'Are those rules worth it to see her with another person? Did you think about that? That there will be another guy, who she'll go to after work, who she sleeps next to, who will marry her, have kids with her. It won't be you, if you don't do anything about it. She will fall in love one day, Tony. It might not be with you. Can you take _that_?'

'I . . . That's . . .' Tony started and stopped, staring off in the distant.

'You were as commitment phobic as they get,' Sam said after a short silence, in which Tony pondered the things Sam had said. 'I know you've changed, Tony, I can see it in the way you act around the people you know. You never wanted a serious relationship, has that changed too? Do you want that commitment? Are you ready for that?'

'Listen, Tony, I am maybe not the right person to talk to you about this, considering that we haven't talked in years. But I do know one thing: if you do nothing, nothing will change. And in this case: you may never know what will or will not happen between you and Ziva. Which may become the biggest regret you'll ever have in your life,' Sam said in a soft voice. 'Maybe you should seek forgiveness, or ask permission. You have to do something, Tony, before you're too late either way,'

* * *

It was dark when Tony pulled up before Gibbs' house. Was he really going to do this? It felt like he was going straight to the lion's den. Or maybe 'Hell mouth' would be a better way of naming it. He felt ridiculous nervous. It wasn't like he was asking Ziva's dad for permission to date his daughter. On the other hand: Gibbs probably felt for Ziva as if she was his daughter, just as he did for Abby. And if McGee could get away with dating Abby, there should be a chance that he could get away with asking Ziva out on a date. But McGee probably never asked _permission _to date Abby.

'Are you going to stand there the whole night, DiNozzo?' Gibbs voice suddenly sounded through the night, moments later he stepped into the light.

'Boss! Hey, Boss! I was ehm . . . I brought a few beers,' he ended lamely, holding up a six pack. Gibbs gave him questioning look, but nodded and went in, leaving the door open for Tony to follow.

Gibbs continued working on his boat, while Tony sat down on the stairs. He knew that his Senior Field Agent had something on his mind, but he also knew that he shouldn't push it. The general rule with DiNozzo was that he would talk when he was ready. If he wasn't ready, he wouldn't sit on his basement stair right now. So he would wait, work on his boat, and let Tony do the talking.

'She looks nice, Boss. I hope she won't end up as the Titanic,' Tony said after a while.

'I never said she's unsinkable,' Gibbs answered.

'But it could happen. Not that you build bad boats. You are the best boat builder I know. It's just that every boat can sink, even yours. Not that . . . Ehm, yeah, want a beer, Boss?' Gibbs had turned mid-rambling and raised an eyebrow at Tony. He tossed the hammer on the bench, and sat down next to Tony on the stairs. He grabbed a beer and opened it. Tony stood up and walked around the basement, circling around the latest 'Kelly'.

Ah, he was nervous. Nervous enough to want distance between them, Gibbs noted. So this thing Tony had on his mind was something serious.

Tony leaned against the work bench, taking a sip of his beer and letting his eyes wander the basement. Suddenly he saw a few frames hanging on the walls, that he hadn't seen before. He made his way over, and stared at the framed pictures.

'That's a nice picture,' he pointed out a picture of Gibbs and – he assumed – Kelly, painting a wall together, laughing, simply looking happy.

'It's one of my favorites,' Gibbs admitted, walking over to him. Tony stepped aside, looking at the other pictures. One of the whole team, one of Ziva and Abby together in the lab. He smiled when he spotted one of him and McGee, where they both were covered in dirt after the pursuit of a suspect through the woods. They caught the woman, suspect for murder, after she had slipped in the mud. She had also managed to let them both trip in the same puddle of mud. Oh they had smelled _bad_.

His eyes wandered further over the wall, shortly looking at picture of Kate, wearing the flowery-cap Abby once had made her wear. Next to it hang a photograph of former Director of NCIS, Jenny Sheppard. It was a beautiful shot, were she wasn't looking in the camera, but laughing at something that wasn't in the frame.

'Boss . . .' Tony started, not sure how to bring up the subject he was aiming at.

'DiNozzo,' Gibbs answered simply.

'Did you . . . Is it . . . Rule number twelve, did you made that because of . . . I mean, did it exist . . .'

'Do you babble this much when you try to hook up with a girl?' Gibbs smirked.

'What!? No! It's just . . .' Tony took a deep breath. 'I need . . . No I _want_ to ask something. But I'm not sure if I should ask . . . permission, or if it's better to just do it. With rule eighteen and all. So what I'm asking is,' Tony hesitated again. He closed his eyes, took another deep breath, and jumped. 'I want to ask Ziva out on a date,' When the silent grew, he slowly opened his eyes again. Gibbs wasn't next to him, and slightly surprised Tony turned around to see where his Boss had gone to.

Gibbs emptied the content of two glass jars, and poured some Bourbon in both of them. He leaned against the work bench, and offered Tony a jar. Tony hesitated, but walked over and stood next to Gibbs, taking a sip. When the jars were empty, Gibbs refilled them solemnly.

'Tony, I created rule number twelve for a reason. It doesn't matter if it is there because of Jenny or not. It is there. Dating a coworker is a bad idea, and in our line of work it can be life-threatening – and you know that. What if a suspects has Ziva at gunpoint, and you have to make a decision. If you're involved with her, you'll hesitate. Which can be deadly, for not only her but for the entire team. So, no, Tony, I won't give you permission,' he finally said. 'And if you _do_ ask her out, I'm afraid it will have consequences for your spot on the team,' he warned.

Tony nodded, feeling strangely relieved and crushed at the same time. He put down his empty jar – he could swear there still had been sawdust in it – and stood straight. He would handle this as a man, but he would give Gibbs something to think about before he left.

'I would always hesitate to make a decision when someone of our team is held at gunpoint. No matter who it is, because I care. For all of you,'

Gibbs put his own jar on the bench, and left the basement. He had done enough for tonight.

--

Ziva sat at her desk, reading in a cold case report. The day had just begun, but she was already bored. They didn't had a case, she had done all of her paperwork, Tony and McGee were doing a coffee run and she hadn't seen Gibbs since he had left the bullpen an hour ago. She couldn't visit Abby, who was away on a conference, Ducky had a day off and she suspected Palmer of still being afraid for her – which made spending time with him much less fun after the first fifteen minutes.

With a sigh she leaned back in her chair, and took her knife from her desk. She twirled it around in her fingers, enjoying the feeling of balance and the weight in her hand.

'Did you ever hurt yourself doing that?' A familiar voice asked behind her. Ziva hold the knife still and turned around to see who disturbed her while she was doing nothing.

'Damon? Damon Werth? What are you doing here?' She smiled.

'I'm in Washington for a few days, and thought I would pay you a visit. How are you doing, Ziva?'

'I am good, thank you. How are you doing?'

'Very good, actually. No more steroids and I've got a new job. Hey, do you've got time to get some coffee or something?'

'I don't think Gibbs would appreciate it if I left for my lunch break already, but maybe we can have dinner tonight?'

'That would be nice, Ziva,' Damon nodded. 'Oh wait, here's my card. I know how it goes with your job, you get cases at the weirdest times,' He handed Ziva a business card and winked. Before Ziva could react, his cell phone went off.

'Werth . . . Yeah no problem, I'll be there in twenty minutes . . . I know the traffic is bad, that's why I said twenty. Okay, see you,' he hung up and shrugged.

'And there goes my coffee break. Call me, for tonight!' He waved and left in a hurry. Ziva set down, looking at the card he gave her, a smile on her face.

--

'Your tea,' McGee announced moments later, putting a cup of tea on her desk.

'Thank you, Tim,' Ziva nodded.

'Do you want a donut with that, Ninja?' Tony asked, holding a box with donuts open in front of her. Ziva picked up one with sugar.

'Hey, wasn't that Werth guy here a few minutes ago?' he asked, while picking up a donut with sprinkles for himself.

'Damon? Yes, that was him,' Ziva answered.

'What did he want?' Tony asked, handing over the box with donuts to McGee, who had joined them at Ziva's desk.

'He wanted to catch up with me tonight over dinner,' Ziva shrugged.

'You said no, right?' Tony asked. 'Right?' He pressed.

'What does it matter to you?' Ziva asked suspiciously.

'Well, for starters, he punched Gibbs, gave McGee a dislocated shoulder and broke my nose. Besides that, he was on steroids. And I don't . . . I don't trust him!' Tony caught himself before he blurted something out that he shouldn't.

'He stopped the steroids, which caused him to act like he acted. I happen to like Damon, and you cannot tell me what I can or cannot do!' She grabbed her donut, and before McGee or Tony could do anything, she tossed it in his face, before she walked out on them.

'Well, that went well,' McGee remarked, taking a bite of his own donut.

'Oh put a sock in it, McGee,' Tony grumbled.


	6. Gibbs

_A/N: Hello dearest readers. It's been a long time, a very very long time I should add. I'm sorry for that, but I got hit with writers block, I really didn't know what to do with this story - or any other story for that matter. Besides that I've been really busy with school, did an intern ship and now I'm almost done and very close to getting my diploma!_

_I hope you like this chapter, although it's not really long. I also hope you will have the patience to leave me a review :) To refresh your minds, I've posted the end of the last chapter before this one. Have fun!_

_One last question: I'm thinking of changing the title of this story, but am not sure if that effects the reviews it has gotten? Can someone enlighten me?  
_

_

* * *

_

'Hey, wasn't that Werth guy here a few minutes ago?' he asked, while picking up a donut with sprinkles for himself.

'Damon? Yes, that was him,' Ziva answered.

'What did he want?' Tony asked, handing over the box with donuts to McGee, who had joined them at Ziva's desk.

'He wanted to catch up with me tonight over dinner,' Ziva shrugged.

'You said no, right?' Tony asked. 'Right?' He pressed.

'What does it matter to you?' Ziva asked suspiciously.

'Well, for starters, he punched Gibbs, gave McGee a dislocated shoulder and broke my nose. Besides that, he was on steroids. And I don't . . . I don't trust him!' Tony caught himself before he blurted something out that he shouldn't.

'He stopped the steroids, which caused him to act like he acted. I happen to like Damon, and you cannot tell me what I can or cannot do!' She grabbed her donut, and before McGee or Tony could do anything, she tossed it in his face, before she walked out on them.

'Well, that went well,' McGee remarked, taking a bite of his own donut.

'Oh put a sock in it, McGee,' Tony grumbled.

* * *

**Gibbs**

* * *

Gibbs was at his desk in the bullpen, working on reviews of his team. It was job he never liked to do: too much paperwork, the so called 'Annual Performance Reviews' took always too much time and were always inconvenient. If they were due, they were always in the middle of a case. This time, Vance had made sure they didn't have a case but Gibbs still thought the reviews were a nail on his coffin. Not in the least because he was worrying about his Senior Field Agent.

Gibbs looked up from his paperwork and stared at Tony's desk for a view moments. Even though it was dark, and the lights were off, he knew how Tony had left it. Papers were discarded on the desk, candy wraps lay in between them and a pizza box was left behind, forgotten on the cabinet behind his desk. After the years they worked together, Gibbs knew that when Tony left his desk behind this messy, it meant that something was bothering him. Something personal and probably something he didn't want to talk about. Gibbs chuckled softly: when did DiNozzo ever wanted to talk about something that was personal?

Not that he really needed a talk about what exactly was bothering DiNozzo, it was as clear as day. Gibbs' looked from Tony's desk to Ziva's desk. A beautiful bouquet of roses stood on the cabinet next to her desk, other than that her place was nice and tidy. The roses were part of the problem: they came from Damon Werth, and even though Ziva hadn't denied nor confirmed it, it wasn't a secret that they were dating. And even though Tony hadn't said a word about it, Gibbs knew it was bothering him. He was quieter, withdrawn, focused entirely on the cases they had – and didn't have. Every cold case he could lay his hands on landed on his desk. Gibbs had watched his Senior Agent closely, but hadn't called him on the behavior. He wasn't drinking excessively and he was doing his job as good as ever.

Ziva, on the other hand, wasn't as easy to read. On the surface she looked happy enough with Werth and although Gibbs didn't like the guy, he wasn't bad for Ziva. He had picked her up a few times after work and had tried to be nice to all of them. He had been respectful as always against himself, he had been interested in McGee and his computer mumbo jumbo and even tried to be nice towards Abby, although she didn't made it easy for him with her snarling comments. Tony was, unsurprisingly, the one who he had the most difficulty with. When they were together in the bullpen, the tension got higher every minute and they could glare at each other, as if they wanted to start a shootout. It never was pretty.

Had he been wrong about not giving Tony permission to ask Ziva on a date? Gibbs rubbed his face with his hands and got on his feet. He stepped behind Ziva's desk and turned on the light. His eyes traveled quickly over her desk, which was pretty much empty. He sat down on the chair and hovered with his hand above her drawer. Technically he should _not_ be doing this. And he wasn't curious . . . well, not really, but he had a gut feeling and he wanted to check it out. Decisive he opened the first drawer. One quick look was all he needed to see that it wasn't there.

He moved on to the second drawer and found nothing. He closed it and opened the third one. On first glance he didn't saw what he was looking for, but then he spotted the corner of a piece of paper sticking out underneath a book. He picked up the book and chuckled softly when he saw it was titled '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die'. He placed it on Ziva's desk and picked up the rectangle piece of paper. Gibbs turned it around and discovered that his gut had been right. He looked at a photo, picturing Tony and Ziva, laughing at each other, clearly not noticing that they were being photographed. Gibbs eyesight wasn't what it used to be but he saw easily how they were looking at each other, the warmth in their eyes and the true smiles on their faces. The fact that _Ziva_ had this picture in her desk – as where Tony probably still had Ziva's picture of her in a bikini in his wallet or somewhere in his desk – said a lot about how Ziva felt about Tony, even though she was dating Werth now. Especially since this was the _only_ picture hidden in her desk, while she had a few others put up on the divider next to her desk. Gibbs put everything back where it belonged, closed the drawer, put out the light and walked back to his own desk to continue working on the review reports.

Maybe, just maybe, he had been wrong.


	7. Jenny

_Yes! It's true! An update - a real and true update! - after almost 2,5 years. I'm as shocked as you are!_

* * *

**Jenny**

* * *

'So he said no,' Sam said while she looked at Tony who was standing at his window, staring outside. He had a two-day stubble, a shirt with some faded text and an old pair of jeans that clung at his hips. Damn that man looked sexy when he wasn't trying. 'But that doesn't mean you've to stay like this forever, Tony. Maybe he'll change his mind; maybe you'll meet someone else. Things can change, right?' Sam pushed on. Tony kept staring out of the window, without immediately answering.

'You know what the problem is, Sam?' He finally said. 'If I take the risk of asking her out, she can say yes or no. If she says yes, I can go looking for a new job. Gibbs wasn't kidding about that. If she says no, it will change the way things are between us so much that I probably _want_ to quit after a week. I don't know if I can take that risk. If I'm ready for such a choice . . . Which makes me doubt how much exactly I care for Ziva and if I don't really love her, why the hell would I even bother to ask her out in the first place? And that's skipping over the fact that she's seeing Werth – of all the guys in all the world,' Tony talked, turning around halfway and looking at Sam.

'Maybe you're looking at this the wrong way, Tony. Don't wallow in self pity. What do you normally do when things go wrong with a girl?' She got up and stood next to him at the window.

'Go looking for another one,' Tony snorted. 'I've tried that, Sam, remember? I tried dating other women and it simply doesn't work,'

'I'm not talking about dating, Tony. I think you just need a rebound, nothing more, nothing less. Have sex, not strings attached,' Sam tilted her head and place her hand on Tony's chest. 'I'm here for you, Tony. If you want me to,'

Tony looked into her eyes, his mind whirling. Would it be that easy? Simply sleep with someone and that would be it? Suddenly the air seemed to be heavier. Yeah she was beautiful and oh hell they had had a lot of fun between the sheets when he worked in Baltimore. 'You think too hard,' Sam whispered before she moved her hands higher and around his neck, pulling his head down into a soft kiss.

* * *

Ziva walked next to Damon over the grass, not exactly knowing what they were doing. Suddenly Damon stopped walking and put down the backpack he was carrying.

'What are you doing?' Ziva laughed.

'We are here. Welcome at your own personal restaurant. If you have a moment, I will get your table ready,' Damon winked. He got on his knees and opened the backpack, taking out a plaid and a few packages. After laying out the plaid, he removed the paper from the packages and placed two glasses, napkins and plates on it. He reached into the bag again, got a bottle of wine and another package. He looked up at Ziva who was still standing next to him.

'If I could, I would show you your seat and all, but we don't have them. You can sit down if you want to,' Damon grinned while he watched her surprised expression. Ziva looked from the covered plaid to Damon and laughed. She was still grinning when she got down too and sat herself next to Damon.

'Are we really going to eat, in this park, in the evening? I thought picnicking was something you do while the sun is shining?'

'That is an option, but it is kinda boring and much busier so you can't really enjoy the view as good as now. But, to make my point, I want to welcome you in the most historic diner of the United States. With a beautiful view, I might add,' Damon pointed to the left of Ziva and she turned her head. 'The Washington Monument,'

'Very beautiful,' Ziva nodded with a smile.

'I thought you would like it. The best part is,' Damon paused and unwrapped the last package out of his bag, 'we're having dinner right next to it. Want some salad?'

'I would love some, thank you,' Ziva nodded with a grin, her eyes sparkling with pleasure. They ate and talked, and Ziva had to admit to herself that she was really having a good time, that Damon was an interesting man and a fun date and that she hadn't thought about Tony until . . . well until that moment.

'Have you ever watched the stars?' Damon asked when they had eaten the food and drunk the wine.

'A few times in Israel,' Ziva nodded. 'When you are in the desert, it is very powerful to look at the stars. You see a lot more than when you are in the city, were everything is lit up by everything else,'

'I'm afraid that this won't look as impressive as it will in the desert, but . . .' he pointed up with his finger and lay down on the plaid. Ziva arched an eyebrow and lay down next to him. She looked up at the sky and smiled. It was a bright evening; the stars were more clearly visible than she had ever seen in Washington.

'I have seen worse,' she laughed.

'Me too,' Damon answered, looking at her. Ziva turned her head a moment and grinned.

'That is such an easy compliment,'

'Yeah, it is, but that doesn't mean it isn't true,' Damon answered. He got up, leaning on one arm, and stared at Ziva. 'And believe me Ziva, you truly are a beautiful woman,' before Ziva could answer, he leaned forward and kissed her.

* * *

'Nothing?'

'No,'

'Absolutely sure?'

'I would know, wouldn't I?'

'I guess so.'

'Don't worry, it's not you, it's me. It's definitely me.'

Sam turned her head towards Tony and bit her lip.

'What?' he grunted. 'I can't really see the humor in this one,'

'Well,' Sam suddenly giggled. 'It's just . . .' she giggled again and took a breath. 'I know it isn't funny, really, but . . .' before she could finish her sentence, she started laughing out loud, leaning with her head against Tony's shoulder. He looked down at her head and a smile started to form on his face. Seconds later they were both laughing so hard that Sam had tears in her eyes and Tony was holding his stomach because it was aching from laughing so hard. Finally they stopped laughing and Tony put his arm around Sam.

'She ruined you,' Sam said after a short silence.

'Yeah she did. Don't know what I can do about that. Dates won't work. Little Tony won't even get to attention when someone else is involved. A very gorgeous someone else, I should ad,'

'Thank you,' Sam smiled. 'Are you sure Little Tony is still working?' Tony looked at her and raised an eyebrow. 'Do you want to know a view of the more embarrassing moment I've had the last months? Or is my word enough,'

'I think your word is enough,' she answered. 'Why do you call it Little Tony actually? I don't remember it being . . . Little,' she giggled again.

'Well, thank you,' Tony smirked. 'Maybe we should go eat somewhere,' he suggested after a while.

'Good idea,' Sam nodded. They got up from Tony's bed and left the apartment minutes later.

* * *

It took a few weeks, but Tony finally managed to put his head around the fact that Ziva was dating. He ignored the fact that it was Werth – of all men how the hell could she pick _that_ guy? – but he had to accept the fact that she was dating someone and that it wasn't him. It was as if he found a place deep in his mind where he could place that piece of information and put it away. It was the only way to make it bearable at the moment, because he was still head over heels in love with her.

When Werth came in the office the first few times Tony had the almost irresistible urge to smack the guy around, just for the fun of it. After a while he noticed that Ziva seemed to be truly happy – or at least happier. So, something that Werth did was good for her. And another few weeks later, Tony finally found the decency to give Werth a nod and something that could resemble a smile when he came in to pick Ziva up.

It was as if a ripple of relief went through the bullpen.

Ziva gave Tony a strange look – it was the first time she really looked at him, he thought to himself. He grinned, gave a wink and went back to the case file he was reading.

* * *

Gibbs watched his team silently during those weeks. If he indeed had been wrong, he wanted to be sure. He noticed things he never saw before, just because he didn't needed to watch for them. And even though he thought that 'second B stands for Bastards' still counted, that didn't mean he didn't care. A grim look crossed his features. Maybe _he_ cared too much.

One of the first things Gibbs noticed how Tony smiled at Ziva when she wasn't looking – really not looking. It was different from the smile he carried when Ziva thought that Tony thought she wasn't looking while she actually _was_ looking. When the hell did they made being partners so complicated? And how was it that he had missed it completely?

Gibbs took the stairs to enter the bullpen, wondering what he would walk into this time. He slipped through the doors, halted in a corner and took a sip of his coffee. His timing was impeccable. Ziva leaned back in her chair, a smirk on her face, watching Tony digging himself a hole about something. McGee seemed to enjoy himself, leaning back too.

It was when Tony looked straight at Ziva that the atmosphere seemed to change, ever so slightly. McGee sighed, rolled his eyes and went back to work. 'Always the eye sex, really,' he muttered. Tony nor Ziva noticed his remark, too busy looking at each other. Gibbs couldn't help the grin, remembering when he and Jenny did that. The grin left his face as soon as it got there.

Jenny. One of the reasons he didn't even _dare_ to let Tony and Ziva date. It went so wrong for him and Jenny, how could it go right for them?

'They are different,' he almost heard Jenny whisper. 'See what they went through already, together. It only made them stronger, they can handle it,'

'She's seeing someone else,' Gibbs thought. He knew pretty sure that if Tony understood that Gibbs had changed his mind, he would do something crazy.

'You think he would do that?' He could almost see Jenny's smile. 'You should know better than that Jethro. He's grown. He will take his time and take it easy, I'm sure of it . . .'

Gibbs thought about it. He had seen how devastated Tony had been the first view days after he had asked his permission to date Ziva. He had seen how Ziva slowly seemed to get happier with Werth, but he had also noticed at least once that she gave Tony a look of longing. It was only in her eyes for a mere minute, but it was there.

Gibbs had also seen how Tony got his act together. As if he found a way to deal with it all, as if his mindset had changed. It really was a fact that Tony had grown up. He still acted like a clown once in a while, but there was so much more to the man these days. Gibbs smiled when the realization hit him: Tony had grown up, and it was time that it was acknowledged by at least Gibbs self. He would give him what he wanted. And he knew exactly how to bring it.

With a last sip of his coffee, Gibbs entered the bullpen. He walked over to Tony's desk, effectively cutting of the eye-contact between Tony and Ziva. He looked at his Senior Field Agent for a few moments, holding his gaze.

Tony didn't blink.

'Rule twelve? Consider it . . . on leave.' He said it so quietly that he wasn't even sure Tony would hear him.

The look on Tony's face said there was nothing wrong with his hearing.

* * *

_It has been almost 2,5 years since I've updated this story. I don't think I should apologize anymore, it's simply wrong. A lot has changed in my personal life: new relationship, moving in together, finding a job. I've been busy, let's keep it at that. I never forgot about this story though, and recently I found a chapter back on my Google Drive, waiting to be re-discovered._

_Maybe it feels that the story is at lightning speed suddenly, but I hope you can live with that. If you have anything to say: leave a review, good or bad, I'll read them all. I missed getting them ;)_

_One last thing: I'll try to update sooner this time. I have the idea that my writers block may be gone. Would be nice to simply write stuff again after years!_


	8. Being in sync with you

_A/n: Enjoy!_

* * *

**Being in sync with you**

* * *

_With a last sip of his coffee, Gibbs entered the bullpen. He walked over to Tony's desk, effectively cutting of the eye-contact between Tony and Ziva. He looked at his Senior Field Agent for a few moments, holding his gaze._

_Tony didn't blink._

_'Rule twelve? Consider it . . . on leave.' He said it so quietly that he wasn't even sure Tony would hear him._

_The look on Tony's face said there was nothing wrong with his hearing._

* * *

Ziva tried to follow the conversation before her, but Gibbs spoke too soft and Tony hardly said anything but seemed to only stare at Gibbs. Whatever Gibbs had said to Tony, it had clearly hit a spot because Tony was seldom lost for words. Ziva didn't had a clear view of Tony, with Gibbs still standing in the way, but it did not matter. Gibbs had spoken only to Tony, Tony had hardly reacted and when Gibbs moved a bit, changing his footing, she had a quick view of his face. Disbelieve and shock were the main emotions she registered, accompanied by ... Anger? Too fast her view was once again blocked by Gibbs. There were more emotions, but Ziva could not exactly put her finger on them.

She gave a look towards McGee's desk but it was empty. He was blissfully unaware of anything, gone away somewhere in the last few minutes. Damn it. She looked up to Tony's desk, Gibbs had gone back to wherever Gibbs went when he was not at his desk. Tony was going through a report, slowly, not looking up once.

* * *

Tony tried to focus on the report about the statement of a key witness in a cold case, but his mind wandered. He didn't understand what had happened. Was Gibbs yanking his chain? It wouldn't be the first time Gibbs pulled a joke on him, but this would be ... Cruel. Gibbs was a lot, but not cruel. But what had happened than that he had come up to his desk - with Ziva there! - and had given him the green light to ask Ziva out. Why the sudden change of heart? And why now, just after he had accepted the fact that she was seeing someone else, that he didn't have a chance and that he had decided that he was happy when she was happy.

He let out a sigh - and froze. Every fiber of his being was suddenly on high alert: he felt the hairs in neck itching, the top of his ears pricking and his shoulders stiffened slightly. He didn't blink, look up or shifted, but deliberately relaxed his shoulders, and kept going through the file. He was certain she was standing behind him, trying to sneak up on him. But this time he was on to her, and he decided to give her a run for her money.

'Could you hand me the Robinson-file? I think it is on your left,' he said, at the same time swiveling his chair around. He held his hand out to Ziva, smirking, waiting for the file. 'How did you know I was here?' she asked, grabbing the file and handing it over. 'You never know it when I sneak up behind you,' she added suspiciously. 'Maybe you're losing your touch,' Tony answered. 'I am not!' Ziva huffed. 'Maybe I have gotten more in sync with my surroundings?' Tony suggested, opening the file and browsed through it. 'Or maybe I'm more in sync with you,' he closed the file, tossed it on his desk and got on his feet. His last words lingered between them when Tony looked down into her eyes.

They hadn't been this close since they had kissed, Ziva thought suddenly. She had pushed every thought about that kiss into a dark corner in the back of her mind. She was seeing Damon, Tony was not the one she could date. He didn't want her, there were rules. It was easy. It _had_ to be easy. But now, with Tony standing before her, trapping her almost against the cabinet behind his desk, she wasn't so sure anymore. What did he mean with being in sync with her? She opened her mouth to ask it, but before she got the chance they were - once again - interrupted.

'DiNozzo, you got what I asked you? Ziver, quit harassing Tony and start doing your job before I'll find a job for you,' Gibbs entered the bullpen, shot a look to Tony who seemed relatively okay - he had almost expected them both gone out of the bullpen and doing some non-work related activities somewhere in the building. But Ziva was back to work, Tony was going to the file he has asked him to work through and nothing seemed to have changed. He wondered when Tony would act upon his just gained permission. He had the feeling, that it was going to be a challenge to get any work done the coming weeks.

Ziva worked at her desk, but a part of her mind was thinking about her partner. She had no idea what Gibbs had said to Tony, but considering that it been done quietly, that Tony had seemed preoccupied after that conversation and that Gibbs had pointed out a few times that he should focus on his work ... It didn't feel right. It felt too secretive. And when Tony was this secretive, something was the matter. Ziva suddenly sat op straight. Was he ... No, it could not be. Not after the last time ... Ziva thought about everything she had seen that afternoon. She swallowed. Tony was on a mission, again. And she, his partner, didn't know. Wasn't suppose to know, apparently. Well, mot this time. She was going to watch him like a hawk, there was no way she would let him get into deep this time. She cared too much to let that happen, Gibbs' rules be damned.

* * *

When Tony got home that evening, he was feeling restless. Ziva had watched every move he made, he had felt her eyes on his form constantly. A few times he got the thought to just stand up, walk over to her desk and kiss her senseless. He didn't do that, however. There was something about his gained permission that was bothering him and it gave him this restless, annoying feeling. He needed someone to vent to, but he wasn't sure who to call. Abby was not really an option, she was an excellent partner in crime when it came to execute plans, but this was too complicated, he needed a more distant person this time. Of course! He didn't know why he hadn't thought about her earlier.

'Hey Sam it's Tony, are you busy?' he asked when Sam picked up her phone. 'I am very busy hanging on the couch and watching TV,' Sam answered cheerfully. 'What's up?' 'Well, I kinda could use your thoughts on something, because the thing is ... Well ... You see ...' 'Jeez, Tony, spit it out already!' Sam interrupted. 'Gibbs gave his permission,' Tony said after a short silence. Sam gasped. 'He gave permission? About Ziva?!' 'Yes,' 'But that is awesome! Why are you calling me and not Ziva! What are you waiting for!'

'Well, the thing is, she is seeing a guy, and she looks pretty happy. And that is great, you know. She deserves to be happy. I don't want to mess that up for her,' Tony suddenly understood what was nagging him that afternoon. While he was contemplating his thoughts, Sam kept quiet. Finally she said: 'I don't think you have to be afraid that you don't love her enough, Tony. The fact willing to step aside for someone else says it all. But that doesn't mean you should just give up, you know. You can try to win her heart!'

'That sounds nice, but I don't want to win her heart, Sam. That sounds as if I am going to push her and she has been pushed enough in her life. I want her to be happy, and I want her to choose herself with who she wants to be happy with. It cannot be something like: hey, Ziva, I like you. Ditch that moron and let's be together. She will think that I am jealous, that I am not serious and that I only want her to not be with Dickhead Damon,'

Sam snorted at the last part and stretched her legs on her couch. 'But you are still in love with her,' she noted. 'Yes,' Tony admitted without any hesitation. 'And you want to be with her, but not go after her,' Sam continued. 'Basically, yes.' Sam went quiet again. 'How are you going to do that,' she finally asked. 'Well, I was hoping you could help me out with that one,' Tony answered sheepishly. 'This is new territory for me, I have no idea what I should do to let a woman fall in love with me, without pursuing her,'

'You do not know ... Tony, how the hell did you became a Senior Field Officer while you are so stupid? Are you seriously not knowing this? No wonder you are still single, this is so simple. Befriend her. That is it, I swear,'

'Being friends? You do know about the dreaded friend zone right? Where everyone walks in, while trying to win a ... Oh. Oooh!' Tony suddenly understood.

'Exactly. You don't want to win her, you want her to pick you. If you go in without any intention of winning her heart, you will eventually win her heart. Don't be an asshole, don't act as if you are not interested, but be her friend, be interested in her life, in her, without any double meaning. And I really mean that last part, because that will be your downfall if you are not paying attention. Keep living your own life, date if you want to, don't put all your energy towards her. If she calls, be available when you are, not because _she _calls,'

Tony nodded, forgetting that she didn't see that. 'Thanks, Sam. I owe you big time,' Sam grinned 'Yeah you do. I want an invite to the wedding, got that. And keep in touch, I would like to hear an update every now and then,' she answered. 'If I'll ever be that lucky, you'll be one of the first people I will call,' Tony promised. 'But now, I just want to become her friend,'.

* * *

_Yes, this is a very dangerous way to interpret the so called 'friend zone', but I do believe it has a certain truth in it and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_


	9. Running

_A/n: It took longer than I had planned, but I had a few stressful weeks. I do think that this chapter turned out pretty nice. Enjoy!_

* * *

**9. Running**

* * *

In the days that followed, Tony tried to be friendly towards Ziva, without flirting with her. It was hard, he discovered. He was so used to flirting that it was a second nature to him. He brought coffee once - for the entire team, not only her - and even that simple act got him a suspicious look from her.

'What is going on,' she asked, sniffing her coffee carefully. ' You never bring coffee,'. Tony shrugged. 'I had to take a detour because of a traffic jam, came past a coffee shop.' Ziva took a sip and closed her eyes appreciating. She hummed a bit and turned to her computer while Tony served McGee his coffee, naming him McCoffee and McMorning. Since she was sure that Tony was hiding something, she was tracking his moves more and more lately. In a few fast clicks she found out that there indeed had been a traffic jam on Tony's route to NCIS and one of his options to get to the office would lead him right past the coffee shop that was on the cup, so he was telling the truth. Still, it was weird that he did it.

* * *

Bringing coffee every day wasn't an option. First of all, he never had done that, so why start now? And second: on his route to work there was only one coffee place and they all had agreed that was only a last resort to go to: Gibbs hated their coffee, he thought it was more thee and not worth the name coffee. And third: he would do it to flirt. And that was not how he wanted to win over Ziva, he had to remind himself. He was just going to be nice, without any hidden motives.

'Any plans tonight?' he asked while his computer was booting up. 'Yes, actually. Damon made reservations to have dinner somewhere,' Ziva smiled. Tony was silent for a moment, and answered. 'That's nice. Any idea which restaurant he picked?' 'No, he only said it would be a surprise and that I should dress up a bit,' Ziva shrugged 'But that still can mean a number of things, yes?' 'Just pick something you like and feel comfortable in. A nice pair of jeans and a blouse will be just as fine as a dress and stiletto heels. You'll look beautiful either way,' the moment the last part slipped his mouth, he could smack himself. He felt McGee's eyes on him, wide open in surprise. Ziva looked straight at him, her face unreadable. Tony felt his ears pricking and he was sure he was blushing like a schoolgirl. Damn it, damn it, damn it. 'Thank you, Tony,' Ziva finally said with a hint of a smile on her lips. She went back to work, but when Tony glanced up a few minutes later, he could swear she was looking pretty pleased with herself.

* * *

'He said she looks beautiful, I swear he did, Abby!' McGee was in the lab, pacing up and down, while Abby was simply sitting and watching him. She shook her head. 'That's so not Tony, are you really sure?' 'Yes! She told she and Damon have a date, that she wasn't sure what to wear, he said basically: it doesn't matter what you wear, you are beautiful anyway. And that was it. No other comments, nothing!' He stopped in his tracks and looked at Abby, pleading. A part of him couldn't grasp why he was so thrilled about this thing between Tony and Ziva, but he was, and he just _had_ to share it with Abby, he knew she would be ecstatic about it.

'You are right, that is pretty huge! I thought that after they went on our set-up date, they were ready to go for it! That he started dating those other girls really sucked! How did Ziva react? And what did Tony do after he said that?' Abby questioned, starting to feel as thrilled about it as McGee was.

'Well ... Ziva was a bit shocked too, I think. She stared at him before she thanked him. But I saw that she followed him with her eyes when he left his desk a bit later. And I will swear in court that I saw Tony blushing. You know, the way his ears turn red when he is really busted?'

'Yes, I know what you mean! Do you think that maybe we should try it again?'

'Are you sure? Ziva ís dating Damon Werth,' McGee hesitated. He knew how over the top Abby could be, and although he really thought that Tony was head over heels in love with Ziva, it didn't mean that they should start meddling in Ziva's relationship with Damon. That would be simply wrong and absolute not his style.

'Yes yes, know. And I don't want to force them to make out or something, Maybe we should just organize a new movie night, and make sure that we leave a bit early. Right after the movie, or something. So that they will be alone together,'

'And what if Damon will join us? Ziva will probably want to invite him over too,' McGee asked. Abby shrugged. 'We will figure that out later, maybe he can't make it. Ziva mentioned he is pretty busy lately,'

'Okay, fine. But if he is going to be there, you are not going to try anything funny, okay? Ziva really likes the guy, we have to respect that,' McGee insisted.

'I promise, Tim. Really,' Abby answered. 'Really!' she repeated after an unbelieving look of McGee.

* * *

Tony frowned at himself in the mirror. This was not going well, he thought. He wanted to be friendly, but he had made a fool of himself. Ziva had looked at him suspicious, he could almost hear the wheels in her head turning and figuring things out that she should not figure out. His plan had been to ask her to go running with him later that week, but he had no idea how to bring up the subject without looking like a moron. He splashed water in his face, and heard the door open behind him. He didn't even have to look up to know who it was.

'Wrong door again, Ziva?' he asked while he dried his face and hands. 'No, I am right where I wanted to go,' she leaned against the door for a moment before she walked over slowly towards the sinks and mirrors. 'I was just wondering,' she started, looking up. 'Yes?' Tony answered. 'Did you ever had the idea, that something was going on with someone you care about, but you can't figure out what it was?' Ziva asked. Tony swallowed and almost could see a flashing alarm light between them. This was not good.

'Can you be more specific?' he asked lightly. 'Because I noticed how McGee was in a hurry to get to Abby earlier on, and how Gibbs was cranky this morning, but that are not really new things that we should find suspicious,' he added.

'I believe that ... Someone is involved in a mission, and that this ... Someone should know that these missions can turn out quite dangerous,' Ziva explained carefully. Tony raised his eyebrows, he was only partly relieved. This sounded as if they were going to get mixed up in wrong stuff again.

'Ziva, who are you talking about? Someone in our team? We have been through this kind of shit too many times, it can't happen again. Have you talked to Gibbs about this?' His mind whirled, was she talking about herself? This was a weird way to approach it, but with Ziva things were never completely normal. They needed to go to Gibbs, if anyone should know about any mission at all, it was him, he could help out. Gibbs would fix it.

At the same time Ziva looked closely at Tony's reaction. She knew he was a great actor, if he wanted to be. So his reaction could mean two things: his worry was genuine, he was slightly shocked and he knew nothing about any covert mission whatsoever.

Or he was acting, selling that he didn't know what she was talking about. If he wasn't working a mission, what else could be wrong? _Something_ was off. She was absolutely positive. Tony hadn't been the Tony she had gotten to know, whom she had fallen … no, don't go there David.

'We should go and find Gibbs, right now,' Tony said. He took a few steps towards the door, but she didn't follow immediately. He looked back, surprised. 'Ziva, we have to do something, now. Maybe you can explain who you think is in trouble this time?' Ziva shook up from her thoughts and walked to the door. She put her hand against it, stopping Tony from opening it.

'You want to go to Gibbs, to ask him about any missions that are going on?' she asked. 'Yes, or do you _know_ what is going on? Ziva, please tell me!' Tony insisted. His mind flashed back to memories had really wanted to forget. La Grenouille. Jeanne. His car blowing up. The death of the director. His feelings for Ziva were pushed to the background, his instinct was telling him to get into action.

'I was talking about _you_ Tony,' Ziva said quietly. 'You have been acting weird, and I remember a time where you've acted weird too, and I started to worry,' she explained. Tony froze, his hand somewhere in the air between the door and himself, his eyes big, his mind completely blank.

'You thought … I … that …' he stuttered. He closed his eyes, shook his head and collected his thoughts. 'I can assure you, if anything, that if I ever was asked again for a covert op, I would tell you. Like I said just now: we've been through things like that too many times. It can't happen again. Even if the president self would ask me to do a covert mission: you would be one of the first people I would tell,' he spoke seriously. Dead seriously, Ziva noticed. They were locking eyes, and she read more emotions than she could decipher at once.

'I am not on a covert mission for any agency at all. I promise,' Tony felt he needed to make it as clear as possible. And he wasn't lying. The only mission he was on, was one he had giving him himself. Before he could change his mind, he cupped her face in his hand. 'But it's good to know that you care,' he added quietly. Her pupils went wider and Tony had to resist the urge to kiss her. It would be the perfect moment. They were alone, they had been honest, they had shared that they cared about each other. But this was also the moment to step away. Before he would do something stupid, he let go of Ziva, gave her a smile and stepped back. He almost walked out of the restroom, but changed his mind. This would also be the ideal moment to deal with his short-term issue.

'However, I do want to ask you something. It may sound strange, and I didn't really knew how to bring it up,' he started, almost shy. Ziva tilted her head and waited for him to continue. 'I have started running, in the evening. Just to clear my head after working. It's nice and all, but I think I could use a bit of competition. Any chance we could run together? I know you're a morning type – and you know I'm absolutely anything but that, so I'm not sure if you have the time? It wouldn't be a problem if you didn't, by the way,' he started to speak faster, trying to give her a way out.

Ziva started laughing. If _this_ was what was bordering Tony, he was an idiot. 'I wouldn't mind running together. You could use the exercise, yes?' she grinned.

'Hey! I resent that, I'm in perfect shape I will tell you that, sweet cheeks,' Tony huffed. They finally left the restroom, getting a strange look of a co-worker in the process.

'Oh, I am sure you are,' Ziva answered, still laughing. Tony stopped in his tracks and she turned to see what it was this time.

'You don't think Damon would mind?' he asked carefully. This time it was Ziva's turn to huff offended.

'Since when do I let anyone decide what I can or cannot do? He just has to accept the fact that I'll go running with a friend. So, what time are you planning? Around nine tomorrow?'


End file.
